Atlantic sturgeon may get 'endangered' status
CHARLESTON - The reclusive Atlantic Sturgeon might be placed on the endangered species list two years after a federal review concluded such a move was unnecessary. If approved, Atlantic Sturgeon would be declared endangered from the Santee-Cooper river system (including the Catawba-Wateree River) north, and designated threatened from Charleston south.
Reprinted from The State
1/12/2009
CHARLESTON - The reclusive Atlantic sturgeon might be placed on the endangered species list two years after a federal review concluded such a move was unnecessary.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday accepted a petition filed in October by the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocate. The petition forces NOAA to come up with a proposed list designation in one year; the designation must take effect by October 2012.
The petition came after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - spurred by concerns among fishery professionals that the sturgeon was being wiped out - conducted a status review that concluded the fish was likely to become endangered but recommended giving it only a threatened status along the northern half of the East Coast.
The listing would include a designation for the South Atlantic population that includes South Carolina; no recommendation was made for these fish in the 2007 review.
To read the rest of the article, click here
